There are a lot of YTrs who buy the actual popular gears by themselves without getting any sponsoring. Maybe they hope to get a sponsoring by this. Maybe they use it as sign of competence. Maybe they need it to show that they belong to the in-crowd. Maybe they use it to build up their channel and to create income. Everybody today in social media is dreaming of 5 min of fame.

Think about Itchey Boots, how she explosively entered the YT motorbike travel scene, how she selfdeveloped and what she is doing now. A clever young women who recognized a gap for a business and builded up a video channel which let her earn more than enough money to travel like she wants and she shows. She has my fulliest respect for this accomplishment.

Yes, there are riders who got annoyed by big brandings on the jackets, trowsers, gloves, helmets and panniers.
But when it gets to the point to put stickers of a country, a region, a famous travellers and of motor parts manufacturers often these people forget their antipathy about being an advertising pillar. Because this develops a unique feature of a special character, a special human being with reputation.

I am still getting a big grin every time at german biker meeting places in the summer weekends when I see the crowds of shiny polished GS whose look like a mobile touratech catalog. Be sure they show a sticker parade on panniers which got never used in travels. All this provoked by the motorcycle industry and their hype to sell adventure to Mr. & Mrs. Smith when they ride out at the weekend.

Trendy is the last stage before tacky...

But thats how we are. People loves their vanity and they perform it very individually. Some do it offensive and some deny it generally which is nothing else than a special kind of showing individual vanity.
Why not? We are individuals and we want to show our character, values and personality to others. We want to stick out of the crowd and in the same time we want to show that we belong to a special group, gang or culture. Social socities define and devide themselves by conspicuous consumption. Controversial but reality. We simply want to get noticed as an individual. That´s nothing bad in my view and thats - and lets be honest - what we first recognize when we travel somewhere, when we look at the people there. We estimate first through our eyes and later by ears in a communication we judge.

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